Read the passage and answer the following questions:
The Green Revolution successfully increased food production by threefold, but it still couldn't meet the demand of the growing human population. The increased yields were partly due to the use of improved crop varieties, but mainly due to better management practices and the use of agrochemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides. However, farmers in the developing world often find agrochemicals too expensive, and further improvements in yield using conventional breeding methods become challenging. To address the limitations of traditional breeding techniques, scientists developed a technology called tissue culture. Tissue culture involves the regeneration of whole plants from small plant parts (explants) that are grown in a controlled environment, such as a test tube, with specific nutrient media. This ability of explants to regenerate into whole plants is known as totipotency. The nutrient medium used in tissue culture contains carbon sources like sucrose, inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids, and growth regulators like auxins and cytokinins. By utilising tissue culture techniques, a large number of plants can be propagated rapidly and efficiently, a process known as micro-propagation. These plants are genetically identical to the original plant from which the explants were obtained, making them somaclones. Many important food plants, such as tomato, banana, and apple, have been commercially produced using tissue culture. Another significant application of tissue culture is the recovery of healthy plants from diseased ones. Even if a plant is infected with a virus, the meristem (apical and axillary) regions remain free of the virus. Scientists can remove the virus-free meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain virus-free plants.
Apart from improving crops, genetic modification has been used to create tailor-made plants that supply alternative resources to industries. These resources are in the form of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Starches, fuels and pharmaceuticals
Genetic modification is used mainly to improve crops, for example to make them resist pests or stresses. The book adds one more use: GM has been used to create tailor-made plants that supply alternative resources to industries, in the form of starches, fuels and pharmaceuticals.
Option (1) Starches, fuels and pharmaceuticals — Correct. Starches, fuels and pharmaceuticals are the industrial resources supplied by tailor-made GM plants.
Option (2) Antibiotics, enzymes and vitamins — Incorrect. Antibiotics and enzymes are mostly obtained from microbes grown in industry. They are not the resources named for tailor-made GM plants.
Option (3) Fibres, timber and resins — Incorrect. Fibres, timber and resins are ordinary plant products taken from nature. The book does not list them as resources from tailor-made GM plants.
Option (4) Biofertilisers, biopesticides and biogas — Incorrect. Biofertilisers, biopesticides and biogas are microbial products used in farming and energy. They come from microbes, not from tailor-made plants.
NCERT Extract:
Biotechnological Applications in Agriculture – “… (v) enhanced nutritional value of food, e.g., golden rice, i.e., Vitamin ‘A’ enriched rice. In addition to these uses, GM has been used to create tailor-made plants to supply alternative resources to industries, in the form of starches, fuels and pharmaceuticals.”